Chapter 11 - Market Research
Lesson Objectives: To understand sampling, how to present market research data and problems with market research
You now understand the difference between primary and secondary research. You are also well aware of qualitative and quantitative methods of market research.
To finalize Market Research we now need to understand the following:
Sampling
Market Research Inaccuracies
Presentation and use of Market Research data
Sampling is separating a small group (sample) from the whole market to perform Market Research on:
- It's physically impossible to research every single customer in the market making sampling necessary;
- Primary research can be costly and time-consuming - sampling make it cheaper and quicker to be performed.
Selecting the right sample for Market Research needs to be done carefully!
- Your sample needs to be representative of the whole market or else results will be inaccurate.
There are various reasons why a Market Research might turn out wrong/inaccurate results:
1. Wrong sample or too small of a sample will give misleading information;
2. Wrong choice of method for research;
3. Language used in the question is too complicated/technical - misunderstandings;
4. Wrong recording/analysis of the data collected;
5. Outdated data (secondary research);
6. Biased answers from respondents which can happen for various reasons:
- Respondents may lie regarding sensible information (e.g. income, consumption patterns) because of social pressure;
- The way questions are worded may lead respondents to a certain answer making results inaccurate;
- When respondents don't understand or don't know how to answer a certain question and then just guess an answer.
All these problems can cause the research to yield wrong results.
Finally, Market Research is not useful unless the data is organized and presented effectively:
Qualitative Data is usually presented in the form of written reports;
Quantitative Data, on the other hand, can be organized and presented in many ways:
1. Tables make it easy to present numbers but can be uninteresting and confusing:
Do you like to watch football? | Yes | No |
Male < 25 | 86 | 14 |
Female < 25 | 67 | 33 |
Male 25 - 50 | 81 | 19 |
Female 25 - 50 | 44 | 56 |
Male > 50 | 79 | 21 |
Female > 50 | 18 | 82 |
2. Bar Charts: easy way for comparing answers and simple to read data. Can become hard to read when numbers are too close:
3. Pie Charts: each slice of the chart is a different part of the data. It is a great visual aid for presenting data as it enables for spotting the difference in importance of each 'slice'. It can be hard to understand when there are too many pieces of information to compare:
4. Pictogram: each picture/symbol has a numerical value which makes it an interesting way of presenting data to people who dislike numbers. It is hard to show exact/precise numbers with such images:
5. Line Graphs:
- It shows the relationship between two variables;
- It's useful to present trends and predictions;
- They can be difficult to draw and the appropriate scale needs to be in place for accuracy.
To-Do List:
- Activity 11.1 (p. 162)
- Test Yourself (p. 162)
Google Classroom Assignment:
Term 2 - Chapter 11 Activities
Chapter 11 - Market Research
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